St. Patrick by PVRIS (Kara's Theme)
A sister's night was exactly what Kara Danvers needed. A huge weight had been lifted off of her chest since the arrest of Lillian Luthor, but she didn't have the chance to reflect until now. She didn't even bother with changing into her normal clothes− besides, it was comforting to her when she ran her fingers through her cape. Her whole body flopped onto the couch, with some protest from Alex. Nevertheless, her sister joined her. Kara felt the warmth of her Alex's arm around her shoulders, and she took a deep exhale. Stress from the previous day began to ebb away as she let her head fall into her sister's shoulder. Finally, Kara was in the present; she noticed the way the rain thrummed against the window, or the way her sister's stomach rose when she took a breath. Her eyelids fluttered in protest to her tiredness, be she willed them to stay open.
"I got pot stickers and ice cream. Which first?" Alex questioned.
"Ice cream. I could use the sugar," Kara grinned.
"Dessert before dinner?" Alex teased, "Alright, you deserve it after last night." She rose from the couch, making Kara shift her weight and look towards the dining table. Steam rose through the bag that sat in the center, the aroma of fresh pot stickers consuming the apartment.
"I really thought we were going to lose Lena," Kara pointed out, "I'm glad I was wrong." She leaned her head against the couch, her eyes glued to the ceiling. She used her x-ray vision to see past it, revealing the stars above her. Light pollution prevented her from seeing the whole Milky Way, but she could just see Rao's red tint near the flat screen TV. Memories of learning star charts on Krypton flooded her mind, and a deep surge of guilt filled her chest at the thought of Krypton. Perhaps she'd go out to the countryside one day and see how many stars she could remember. But for now, she was content with watching Rao float through the heavens.
That inner peace escaped her as she felt something oily grip her throat. Kara's gaze broke from Rao to see a black hand wrapping around her neck from out of the shadows. She tried to take a gulp of air, only to make a guttural sound. Kara grabbed its wrist, only to grasp the air around her. The creature had her pinned to the couch, despite her attempts to shake it off. One of the fingers seeped through her hair, and the image of her mother was fixated into her mind.
"SUPERGIRL!" her sister shouted. She heard the crack of a gun, and a bullet flew through the dark mist. The creature flinched, letting go of Kara. As she gasped for air, the hand morphed into a single eye, blinking back at Alex. The shadowy mass lurched for her sister before Kara could react. It transformed into a massive hand again, but this time it gripped its fingers onto Alex's head. Her sister's eyes rolled back, and her hands went limp. The gun clattered to the floor of the apartment, and Kara watched Alex's eyes roll back. Kara screamed her sister's name, heat pouring out of her eyes before she could think. The lasers hit the creature's wrist, and it shifted into a giant mouth to screech out in pain. Alex's body went limp when the creature let go of her, making her hit the floor with a thud. The mouth shifted into a black gas, fleeing through the window as if taken by the wind. Kara was left with her sister, lifeless on the floor with blood pooling from behind her ears.
"Come on..." Kara fretted, racing to Alex's side. She gripped the sides of her sister's face, shaking it to wake her up. But her body was still except for her racing heart. Kara gently picked her up, hanging on to every beat. She crept through the open window that the creature had left behind, carefully balancing on the windowsill.
"I'm taking you to the DEO. Hang on, okay?" Kara spoke to her, despite knowing that she couldn't hear her. She pushed her red boots into the wall of the building, using it to push off into the air. The skyscrapers of National City raced by her, but she clung to her sister as if she were a lifeline.
~~~
It had been two hours since the paramedics took her. Supergirl knew that her sister was just in the room behind her. She still hung onto that heartbeat that she could pick up with her super hearing. She relied on that heartbeat to keep drumming, and she relied on the DEO to keep it that way. If they could heal an alien that went through a beating from Supergirl, then they could help Alex Danvers. But she wouldn't dare look through the wall behind her. She didn't want to know what they were doing to her, and it was better off that way. For now, she could sit on the bench and watch the DEO agents walk by. Supergirl finally had a chance to sit and reflect, but she wanted to leave the present now more than ever.
Maggie was the first to show up. She appeared at the end of the hall, her arms crossed and tense. Wordlessly, she walked up to the door of the operating room, but she wouldn't look through the window. The detective leaned against the wall across from Supergirl instead.
"I can hear her heartbeat," Supergirl told her, "She's alive." Maggie sighed a breath of relief.
"And if it stops?"
"I'll tell you. Don't worry."
Maggie looked away from the Kryptonian, scanning the hallway ahead of her. Supergirl could see her hands shaking from under her armpits.
"I'm surprised the DEO let you in," Supergirl continued.
"I did some research on the monster you described to the agents when you came in," Maggie explained, "I wanted to be useful. And, you know, my girlfriend might be dying right now. The DEO can sympathize."
"Did you find anything?"
"I got hold of some government files on Cadmus before it went rogue," Maggie claimed, "They were holding onto a metahuman that matches your description."
"That thing was a human?" Supergirl questioned.
"Indeed it is," A deep voice answered from the end of the hallway. J'onn approached them in his human form, his eyes alert. "Winn is working on some tests of the residue that was left in Alex's hair. There's another human's DNA in it."
"What? How'd they turn a human into that?" Supergirl wondered.
"Not sure. But it's designed to change the chemicals in a person's brain," Maggie explained, "It can kill someone if it hangs on for long enough."
"I got it off of Alex pretty fast," Supergirl breathed, "Hopefully that's enough to keep her alive." J'onn and Maggie both nodded. Supergirl noticed that both of their hearts were racing, and J'onn's muscles tensed up.
"This metahuman was held under Lillian Luthor," Maggie sighed, "I think she kept it for personal use. She must have let it out before she was arrested." J'onn's eyes snapped to Maggie, and she took a step back.
"It's out for Lillian's revenge," J'onn insisted, "It's an assassin. Potentially a torturer."
"Oh my god," Supergirl realized, "Lena's in trouble."
"Hang on, Supergirl. It's after you, too," Maggie pointed out, "Save yourself first before you can help anyone else." Alex's heartbeat slowed for a moment, then fell back into its normal pace. The change made Supergirl panic for a split second, and she had to take a deep exhale to get herself to relax.
"I oversaw some of Winn's work with the residue," J'onn pointed out, "Even with its remnants, I could feel it penetrate my mind. It brought back snippets of some nasty memories."
"I saw my mom!" Supergirl realizes, "I saw her on Krypton when it was trying to kill me."
"I don't think this thing could kill you," J'onn warned, "But it could still reach into your mind. Torture you. And it could consume the memories of any human it kills. Anyone who knows your secret identity is at risk, too. I bet it's designed to make you suffer, so it's putting everyone at risk." Supergirl knew that he had to leave out the fact that he had the same threats, as well. But with Maggie standing between them, they communicated it through a glimpse and a nod.
"What are we going to do?" Maggie fretted, "Nobody is safe. Especially if Alex−" Her voice faded, and J'onn's heartbeat increased. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hide the fear of Alex's death from Supergirl.
"It didn't have control of Alex for very long," J'onn insisted, "Supergirl's identity should still be a secret as long as Alex survives." He reached for his satchel, pulling out three black cases. He handed one to Maggie, and she took it tentatively. Clicking the case open, it revealed a set of earpods.
"Those should cut out the signal the creature puts into the brain," J'onn explained, "I've ordered everyone in the DEO to wear them. Everyone who knows Supergirl's identity will remain here and wear them as well."
"Why give them to me?" Maggie asked.
"You're close to Alex, and you know Supergirl. You're still a target," J'onn pointed out. He turned to Supergirl, his arms crossed.
"As for you, you're not safe here anymore. There are too many people you care about here. You'll have to operate somewhere different from where your secret identity lives, or from here. Somewhere that the creature won't think to look." Supergirl nodded in understanding, and J'onn tapped at his ear, "I'll still be communicating with you on what's going on. You can still be Supergirl and do what your secret identity does for a living, as long as it's away from the people you're normally around."
"Alright, Hank," Supergirl nodded, "I'll find someplace to stay."
The door to the operating room opened, making all three of them jump. A woman in green scrubs moved toward them, and she pulled the mask off her face. There was a pause in the room, the air filled with dread.
"Agent Danvers is fine. She'll need a few weeks to recover. You can talk to her now if you'd like."
Time flowed forward again. Maggie rushed into the operating room without a second thought, and Supergirl sighed a breath of relief. J'onn's arms fell to his sides, and he sat down on the bench beside the Kryptonian.
"Could you do a favor for me?" he asked.
"What is it?"
"Ms. Luthor is in danger as well. Could you give these to her in the morning?" J'onn thrust the case towards her.
Lena.
"Yeah, no problem!" Supergirl grinned, taking the case. Both of them rose from their seats, and Supergirl was next into the operating room. Alex's hospital bed was in the center of the room, with IV's attached to her arms and wrists. Her skin was pale, and she tried to smile. Maggie held her hand gently, tears glistening on her face. Supergirl walked up to the opposite side of the bed, taking the other hand.
"Hey," Supergirl spoke, "How are you feeling?"
"Terrible," Alex's voice was hoarse, "But I'm alive. That's good."
"I'm going to have to go into hiding for a while," Supergirl told her, "But we'll keep in touch, okay?"
"I'll miss you," Alex muttered, "I saw you die when that thing got me. All three of you. And my mom, she abandoned me. For who I was." Her eyes darted from Maggie to Supergirl, then to J'onn, who situated himself at the end of the bed.
"What did it feel like when the metahuman had you, Agent Danvers?" J'onn asked.
"Like I was alone. And I'd never contact another soul again. I just wanted it to end."
"You're not alone anymore, okay?" Maggie insisted. Supergirl took a sharp breath, holding Alex's hand tighter.
"Okay," Alex nodded.